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October 2005 No. 238 Set the Captives Free * Can
You Be Trusted
SET
THE CAPTIVES FREE According to Luke’s Gospel, soon after
Jesus endured the temptations of Satan, he entered a Nazarene synagogue and
stood up to read. There were those in the audience who knew him, recognizing him
as the son of Joseph. Jesus was brought the book of Isaiah, he turned to what we
now know as chapter 61, and read: The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel
to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to
the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that
are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke
4:18-19). After
reading these words, our Lord sat back down. Every eye was fixed upon him, their
hearts amazed at the things he had said. Even as the questions and doubts formed
in their minds, Jesus gave a rebuke:
“And
he said unto them, Doubtless ye will say unto me this parable, Physician, heal
thyself: whatsoever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in thine own
country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is acceptable in his own
country. But of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the
days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when
there came a great famine over all the land; and unto none of them was Elijah
sent, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that was a
widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet;
and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian” (Luke
4:23-27). He knew this people would not respect one
of their own. So it was, they became angry and sought to throw him out of the
city. The passage Jesus selected to read at this
early point in his ministry holds great power for us today. The thread of
redemption is apparent in every phrase. The poor, the brokenhearted, the
captives, the blind, the bruised — all were in need of help in the most
desperate way. Notice how Christ was to correct the problem fully in each
case.
Does it surprise you? Does it move you that
Jesus would begin his public ministry with such a profound passage from Isaiah?
The hope for us contained in his words should lead us to praise him for his
mercy and grace. The promise of freedom should instill in us the passion to try
and try again to overcome our weaknesses. The salvation alluded to should
comfort our souls. And all of this came at a time when in the eyes of the people
of Nazareth, he was only the son of Joseph.
Chad Prince (Oxford,
AL)
CAN
YOU BE TRUSTED? Told by the angel Gabriel that he and his
wife would have a son, Zacharias expressed doubt based on their advanced age. “And
Zacharias said to the angel, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and
my wife is well advanced in years.’ And the angel answered and said to him,
‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you
and bring you these glad tidings’” (Luke 1:18-19). But implicit in his comments was a lack of
trust in Gabriel himself. The angel responded with the simple statement, “I
am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God.” No appeal to evidence; no
attempt at persuasion. Just a simple declaration of his position before God.
That alone was enough to ensure that the messenger was absolutely trustworthy. Were Gabriel a liar, God would have
banished him long before. But his continued presence before God indicated that
he must have been truthful, as none but the truthful can stand in God’s
presence. Consider
the implications of that for the character of believers today. If we know God,
we are to be like him. “Seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in that world by lust”(Pet. 1:3-4). “Beloved,
now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We
know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him
even as he is” (1
John 3:2). As
He is faithful and true, we must be faithful and true. “And
to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the
faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:” (Rev.
3:14).
“And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteous he doth judge and make war” (Rev. 19:11). “And
he said unto me, These words are faithful and true: and the Lord, the God of the
spirits of the prophets, sent his angels to show unto his servants the things
which must shortly come to pass” (Rev. 22:6). Wouldn’t
it be something if the claim, “I am a Christian” were enough to establish
one’s integrity! Yet
that is far from the case today. For example, how many “Christian
businesspeople” bring disrepute to the name of Christ by failing to pay their
bills, abusing contracts, performing sloppy work, or making excuses rather that
fulfilling commitments? What
a tragedy! If Gabriel’s confident statement is any indication of the integrity
that should mark God’s workers, then it ought to be that one need only be
identified as a Christian to erase all doubt. Of all the people, Christ’s
followers should pursue and unimpeachable reputation for integrity. From the The Word in Life Study Bible, p.
1763 Copyright 1993, 1996 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission
COMPARISON OF
KATRINA TO THE END OF TIME In
late August, hurricane Katrina came ashore in gulf coast a couple of hundred
miles from here in the coastal areas of Mississippi and Louisiana, resulting in
hundreds of deaths and unimaginable property damage. The intensity of this storm
was predicted and warnings were broadcast days before landfall. People had time
to evacuate, but hundreds stayed and died. Some of the deaths were people who
were unable to get out of the area because of health or lack of transportation,
but many deaths resulted from people simply determined to stay in spite of the
warnings. One could not help but compare this tragedy to the end of time. Now is
the time for us to prepare for the end. Heed the following warnings in the
scriptures and don’t let death catch us unprepared: “As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth” (Mat. 13:40-42). “He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death”(Rev. 21:7-8). “Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment” (Joh. 5:28-29).
THANK
YOU On October 6, 2005 it will have been one
year since the automobile accident that resulted in the death of Ray McManus,
the man who began and published The Harvester for almost nineteen years.
Ray did not realize the impact of this little publication. It took his death for
us to see the value of The Harvester. Ray worked tirelessly on this
paper, providing most of the financing and work. He continued this publication
through several relocations, job changes, job losses, and birth of children. He
rarely requested assistance with the publication. Only one time, during a
particularly stressful new job, do I remember him considering ceasing the
publication. He quit the job but continued The Harvester. Until 1997, Ray
typed The Harvester on a typewriter. He tediously counted the spacing on
each line to make the print justified. Preparing The Harvester to mail
was also difficult during the first few years, because the Postal Service
required packets to be sorted by zip-codes and zones. The Harvester we
continue to publish is much easier to produce. It is typed on a computer,
emailed to the printer, and no sorting is needed for mailing.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES 1. Because of whom did Pharaoh give Abram many gifts? 2.
In
the tabernacle, where was the place where the Lord would meet the priests?
ANSWERS NEXT MONTH . . . and remember last month’s questions? 1.
Who
did Philistine King Achish appoint as his bodyguard
for
life?
DAVID (1 Sam. 28:2) 2.
Where
did the prophet Daniel look to find the number of years 3.
According
to 1 Peter, what will love cover? A
MULTITUDE OF SINS (1 Pet. 4:8) 4.
According
to Psalm 34, who is close to the brokenhearted?
THE LORD (Psa. 34:18) 5.
What
did the Kinsman remove when he gave Boaz permission to buy Naomi’s land?
HIS SANDAL (Ruth 4:8)
THE HARVESTER is a monthly publication intended to encourage all men everywhere to become laborers into God’s harvest (Luke 10:2). This paper is mailed free of charge to anyone who wishes to receive it. Please submit name, address, and all correspondence to: The Harvester 141 County Road 474 Woodland, AL 36280 Phone: (256) 449-9221
Email: raymcmanus@hotmail.com |
